Well...
...I started flying Delta because a friend of mine has a bazillion Skymiles with them. Whenever I needed a ticket somewhere, he'd just use his miles to get it for me.
And I originally thought that the fact that I lived in a hub city would be to my benefit.
But now things are starting to change.
First off, I soon discovered that living in a hub city can be a DISADVANTAGE. Fares are more expensive than they would be if booked from a different city that routes through the hub. (A BOI-SLC-ATL-LGW is cheaper than just a plain SLC-ATL-LGW, for example.)
I was excited because there are a lot of non-stop flights from SLC on Delta, but now that I'm getting into milage runs, direct flights are a disadvantage.
Then I flew on United for my first time yesterday. The seats were more comfortable, the atmosphere more laidback, my IAD-DEN segment had personal screens for everybody in coach, not to mention you could listen to all the pilot-tower chatter on Channel 9 (which I was fascinated by...listened for most of the trip!)
I have a lot of friends and neighbors who work for Delta at the airport here, in reserverations, in baggage, in mechanical. I guess sometimes I fly with them to give them that extra 0.000001% of job security my business gives.
But after experiencing United, I'm not sure my loyalties are staying now...